How can you compare the Incredible to the Hero? They run the same OS (Android 2.1 w/ Sense) yes, but the hardware is night and day and makes all the difference in experience.

Actually, it doesn't. That's my whole point. The experience in terms of responsiveness, capabilities, app availability, etc. is identical between the Hero and the Incredible. At certain points, I almost thought I was using my Sprint Hero.

Following your same logic what's the difference of upgrading my old 450MHz Pentium 4 Windows machine to a new 2.8GHz i7 Windows machine?

Actually, if you were running Windows 95 on both, there wouldn't be much difference, would there?

And saying you've got to "hand it to Palm" … please elaborate. The last time I checked Palm was on the verge of dying (and their future is still uncertain).

Looks like you're "checking" about as often on Palm as you've been checking on the comparative experience between the Hero and Incredible.

Again, it's about the software, not the hardware. The user experience, look, feel, ease of use and end-user capability of the Incredible is effectively equivalent to the Hero. I didn't see any significant differences that made me say "WOW, they really stepped up their game."

I guess... just my opinion though. I'd welcome enlightenment on how the user experience actually differs if the poster disagrees. Just saying "better hardware specs equals different user experience" doesn't make it so (it certainly didn't during my test of the Incredible).

Looks like you're "checking" about as often on Palm as you've been checking on the comparative experience between the Hero and Incredible.

Again, it's about the software, not the hardware. The user experience, look, feel, ease of use and end-user capability of the Incredible is effectively equivalent to the Hero. I didn't see any significant differences that made me say "WOW, they really stepped up their game."

Well first off, you're correct about software trumping hardware, this is most evident with WebOS itself; the Pre contains the same internals as the iPhone yet the iPhone KILLS the Pre in performance (even with the 800Mhz patch).

And you can't compare the Incredible to the Hero; the Hero runs Android 1.5 and the Incredible runs Android 2.1 – to say they're identical in response and performance is ignorant.

The iPhone "kills the Pre in performance?" In what sense -- multitasking between apps? Running Flash? What does that mean?

And I'm quite aware of all the hardware and software "differences" between the Incredible and the Hero. My core point is that despite all that "advancement," the user experience is identical. I care about the practical stuff, not the marketing stuff like "versioning."

Let me ask you this. If Palm were to launch their "revolutionary" C40 that everyone on these boards is gawking over and it is nothing more than new hardware with the same 'ole WebOS that can be had on the Pre currently, is there a point to upgrading?

The iPhone "kills the Pre in performance?" In what sense -- multitasking between apps? Running Flash? What does that mean?

And I'm quite aware of all the hardware and software "differences" between the Incredible and the Hero. My core point is that despite all that "advancement," the user experience is identical. I care about the practical stuff, not the marketing stuff like "versioning."

If Palm were to launch their "revolutionary" C40 that everyone on these boards is gawking over and it is nothing more than new hardware with the same 'ole WebOS that can be had on the Pre currently, is there a point to upgrading?

Assuming the "C40" exists...

Depends on whether Palm delivers a significantly differentiated user experience on the new hardware. If webOS multitasks faster, or supports certain titles that only run on the new hardware, or has better battery life, those are all important things. If it has WiMax or LTE, for instance, it will allow better streaming.

If it's just a Pre in a new case, less so. The Incredible feels and operates like a Hero in a smaller case.

Of course, webOS gets regular updates -- HTC Android devices, less so. That's partially due to the silly versioning of Android where major revisions have little improved functionality from an end-user perspective. The other problem is that if you want to get a new revision of Android, you're typically forced to change handsets, since the vendors take so long to get parity out.

But HTC Sense feels the same on Android 1.5/1.6 as it does on 2.2. The web browser feels and operates the same, with no noticeable speed increases. The Exchange client looks and feels and works the same. I didn't find any applications in the Android store during my quick perusal that worked better on the higher res screen.

I wouldn't see much of a point of "upgrading" if I was a Sprint Hero user (or an Eris user on Verizon). I suspect Palm (and Apple) will do a better job in that regard in differentiating the user experience with future devices.

Hitting the camera application and having it ready to point and shoot in under a second versus 3-5 seconds currently, that's one hell of a user experience improvement.

An 8MP camera with the ability to shoot HD video versus a 5MP camera, that's one hell of a user experience improvement.

A 1GHz Snapdragon processor with 512MB ram and 8GB of onboard memory versus a VERY underpowered 528MHz with 288MB ram and 512MB of onboard memory, that's one hell of a user experience improvement.

Overall, no you're right there's not much difference between the Hero and the Incredible on the surface – but it's not always what's on the surface that matters. The HTC Hero is SEVERELY crippled in power, it struggles to run a lot of applications, so in essence it hinders a user in a lot of ways. The Incredible removes all those hurdles that the Hero has in place.

I suspect you won't be upgrading to any future Palm devices then, since they too would be delivering the same "user experience".

Overall, no you're right there's not much difference between the Hero and the Incredible on the surface – but it's not always what's on the surface that matters. The HTC Hero is SEVERELY crippled in power, it struggles to run a lot of applications, so in essence it hinders a user in a lot of ways.

That hasn't been my experience. I'd never encountered an Android application that the Hero couldn't run capably.

It did get bogged down when multitasking, but judging from my experience with the Moto Droid, that's a pretty consistent thing when it comes to Android devices.

The Incredible removes all those hurdles that the Hero has in place.

Right now, those "hurdles" don't appear to exist, unless you can give me a specific valid example of a recurrent, significant area where Incredible delivers and Hero doesn't in day-to-day use.

I suspect you won't be upgrading to any future Palm devices then, since they too would be delivering the same "user experience".

If a new Palm device looked, felt, and worked just like a Pre Plus (the device I have now), you'd probably be right.

However, Palm is pretty good at differentiation -- see the Pixi versus the Pre, for instance. Each does things the other doesn't.

I don't see a significant user experience difference between Hero and Incredible yet, all the technology differences to the side. They look, feel, and work about the same (with the exception of the Incredible possibly taking better pictures).

It has better battery life, a better keyboard (for messaging) and lacks a slider. Using a Pixi is a significantly differentiated experience -- switching between the two webOS devices has trade-offs in each direction that impact everyday usability.

Well first off, you're correct about software trumping hardware, this is most evident with WebOS itself; the Pre contains the same internals as the iPhone yet the iPhone KILLS the Pre in performance (even with the 800Mhz patch).

And you can't compare the Incredible to the Hero; the Hero runs Android 1.5 and the Incredible runs Android 2.1 – to say they're identical in response and performance is ignorant.

Haha... regarding the iphone versus pre performance - you're only looking at the small picture.
For example, say if you were cooking dinner; if all you did was cook dinner, it would be pretty easy and quick = iphone.
If you were cooking dinner, cleaning the house, walking the dog and mowing the lawn, all of these things together might take you a little longer overall, but you'd be far more efficient and get a lot more done.

I bet when the EVO is released you will see alot of Pre's for sale....Just saying..you can stay with the Pre and wait more than a year for a new device...i know i know you think that Palm/HP will have out a new device soon....good for you

Guys i see your pixie rants. Let me put it the best way possible.
The pixie is for the people who already own an iPod touch and dont want a brick in their pockets.. Im not saying the pre is a brick by any means. But the pixies light build quality is pretty slick i must say. The big turnoff is the PDK compatibility/games etc.

I bet when the EVO is released you will see alot of Pre's for sale....Just saying..you can stay with the Pre and wait more than a year for a new device...i know i know you think that Palm/HP will have out a new device soon....good for you

I value software over hardware.

During the time that EVO is out, it's unlikely it will receive a software update (judging from the update calendar for other Sprint Android devices from HTC). Meanwhile, webOS will receive numerous updates.

Since it's software that makes the experience work, I'll take frequent software updates over infrequent hardware updates with "better" specs that run just like a Hero in everyday practice.

Haha... regarding the iphone versus pre performance - you're only looking at the small picture.
For example, say if you were cooking dinner; if all you did was cook dinner, it would be pretty easy and quick = iphone.
If you were cooking dinner, cleaning the house, walking the dog and mowing the lawn, all of these things together might take you a little longer overall, but you'd be far more efficient and get a lot more done.

Just a thought.

No. I don't crazily "multitask" like most Pre users here lead others to believe; many users here use those antics into making others believe/think that is why WebOS is oh-so-holy and superior to anything else that has surfaced on the mobile market.

When I owned a Pre I never left applications 'open' and generally never had more than two concurrently open applications.

People here often throw around the "multitasking" term but misconceive it's actual meaning. I can "multitask" just like the rest of you can on most any other devices (to include an iPhone). I can send a txt and go back to watching a video on the iPhone just like you can on the Pre (yes, by way of state-saving on the iPhone). It's not as if you're sending a txt while still having the ability to actively watch the video on WebOS, you still have to switch applications. But that's beside the point here.

Originally Posted by brmiller1976

It has better battery life, a better keyboard (for messaging) and lacks a slider. Using a Pixi is a significantly differentiated experience -- switching between the two webOS devices has trade-offs in each direction that impact everyday usability.

The Incredible has better battery life than the Hero. Has a more vivid screen (24-bit vs 16-bit). A better touch keyboard (the keys are a bit bigger on the Incredible). And the form factor is a bit different (lighter and more ergonomic).